A defining feature of life in Northern Michigan is the proliferation of cabins (called “camps”) that are found arbitrarily scattered at the end of gravel roads and alongside remote lakes across all 15 counties of our Upper Peninsula.
They represent a lot of different things for folks, but all of us who live in this part of North America know these structures are lightning rods for deep emotions of heart and soul.
Think about camps. If you notice, you’ll become aware voice inflections change when the subject comes up. Conversations slow down. Eyes soften, drift elsewhere. When memories are exchanged about splitting Firewood, berry picking, and family-fishing excursions, grins always accompany these kind of references.
Here’s the other side.
In more cases than not, camps, like all properties, become sources of family conflict -especially around inheritance issues. Then there are frequently, between family members, disagreements of “preservation” over and against remodeling with the latest “maintenance-proof ” building materials. Think vinyl siding.
And there’s this paradox: Those who are relatively wealthier, ironically, frequently choose to use a traditional “log cabin” design, a reminder of a simpler time. Materials used are brought in from hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away.
The truth is the great majority of camps up here are simple structures, made from the cheapest materials. Or they’re aluminum-sided trailers, often worn and rusted by harsh winter winds and rain. Many cabins built with beautiful design and the best architectural materials are used only seasonally. After a few years, many are abandoned and sold by their far-away owners.
And here’s the kicker: An electrician who specializes in remote camps told me he has repeatedly seen folks move to live permanently in their cabins and camps (their dream). He’s watched them eventually become isolated, emotionally unhealthy, and physically ill.
Yet, there’s a deeper, lasting truth. Cabins and camps are places where we reconnect or imagine ourselves reconnecting with a simpler, more spiritual way of living. Where we experience carrying water, chopping wood, watching sunsets, and sunrises. Where we unplug and return to essentials. And that’s an inner experience, independent of owning property on a lake.
Growing up in the inner city of Minneapolis, as a child I joined my sister, brother, and parents for a few days each summer traveling to Minnesota’s North Shore where a friend of my father, a gifted carpenter, had built a beautiful cabin. We played cards there, sang, hiked, and visited his neighbor, an old commercial fisherman. I lived the dream all ten-year olds carry, growing up next to dangerous city parks and walking along noisy, busy streets filled with litter.
Not long ago I met the daughter of the carpenter’s family. I asked her how she was enjoying that magical place of my childhood. She replied, “After mom and dad died, the cabin became a series of chores for all of us. We sold it.”
I asked, “Do you miss it?” She replied with a grin, “Not really.” Pointing to her head, she said, “I go and visit there now, anytime I wish.”
-Jon
Journal Notes
This fall, the Cedar Tree Institute provided a training session on mind/body practices in cooperation with the YMCA’s Alzheimer Support Program on 11/6. The CTI Director also presented an introduction to Tai Chi Chuan for the Lake Superior Hospice’s regional Palliative Care Conference on 10/21-22, along with workshops for caregivers on “Spiritual Perspectives on Illness and the End of Life.” On 12/9, he joined CTI’s good friend Jim Shirtz in presenting a series of mind/body stress-reduction strategies for inmates at Marquette County’s Detention Center.
A special note of thanks to classical pianist Nancy Railey, who captivated an interfaith gathering at Messiah Lutheran Church with selections from Bartok and Vivaldi during “Benediction: A Liturgy of Loss and Hope,” held on 10/18. Also to Michael Waite, troubadour of the forest, who ended that quiet candlelit evening, leading the gathering in “We will walk together, we are children of light.”
There will always be beginnings. And endings. Due to a shift in government funding and political priorities, the Lake Superior Binational Forum, organized by Canadian and United States governments in 1991, has been notified that it will be longer be funded. CTI’s Director served as clergy representative on that citizen’s group for 17 years. He attended what was probably the last Forum meeting on 11/13-15, hosted by the Red Cliff Indian Community in Ashland, Wisconsin.
*To Lissa Radke, the Forum’s coordinator since 2004, a special tribute. Over years, she carried on difficult work, balancing competing interests and competing strong personalities with elegance, sensitivity, and an unusual clarity of vision.
Earthkeepers
Initiated in 2004 as an interfaith environmental initiative, this project involved ten faith traditions and 250 congregations across Northern Michigan. It (EK1)was founded in a partnership between the Lake Superior Watershed and the Cedar Tree Institute. During the past 24 months, as part of EKII, 40 churches and tabernacles completed energy conservation projects. Thirty-four of those faith communities have energy savings and pollution prevention programs that now annually prevent 1,927 mg of mercury and 300,000 lbs. of toxic chemicals from being released into our region’s biosphere. In addition, 15 interfaith community gardens were established. Our thanks to the United States EPA and Thrivent Financial for their support.
Following is an excerpt from an Op Ed in the October 12th edition of the Mining Journal: “This summer, volunteers from the Beth Shalom Jewish Temple were among the first of the Earthkeeper’s faith communities to establish a community garden specifically intended to protect native plants and pollinators. They chose as a garden site, a piece of ground on the edge of their community plot in Marquette’s Park Cemetery. Next spring, as we all watch for signs of new life, there in the melting snow, in a place of the buried dead, new life will sprout from the soil as a sign of hope for our future.”
*Earthkeeper volunteers are now awaiting word to see if resources and funding will be available to carry on the work in 2015.
Religious Life
In April, the regional organization of the AFL-CIO and other labor unions held a memorial service in Ishpeming. This year, CTI’s Director brought a prayer of thanksgiving for those union members who have died this past year and also shared a blessing for those who work for economic justice.
Responding to an invitation from Kurt Reichardt, former Regional Director for the ELCA Lutheran Campus Ministry, CTI’s Director made two presentations to a gathering of former and current campus ministry staff on 9/1-9/11 at Pine Lake Camp in Wisconsin. “Remembering: Symbol, Story, and the Sacred Journey” and “Theologian on the Water: The Legacy of Joseph Sittler.”
On 11/7, United Church Women (a Protestant ecumenical organization) invited CTI’s Director to make a presentation at First United Methodist Church in Marquette on the work of Earthkeepers, Northern Michigan’s Interfaith Environmental Initiative. On 11/10, he facilitated a discussion for students and community members on faith-based advocacy and environmental concerns at a student-training event at Northern Michigan University sponsored by Save the Wild U.P.
On 11/22 the CTI Director served as a guest speaker for a worship service with the Portage Lake United Church (Presbyterian and United Church of Christ). Nancy and Diane Byers-Sprague, leaders in that faith community, served as hosts greeting him at the door with coffee and a light breakfast!
Zaagkii Wings & Seeds
‘Zaagkii’ an Anishinaabe word meaning “Gifts that Come from the Earth”
Since 2009, upon invitation from Jan Schultz, Chief Botanist for the Eastern Region of the U.S. Forest Service, the Cedar Tree Institute has worked with five regional American Indian tribes to help recover and protect native plants (i.e. cranberries, wild leeks, ginseng, blueberries). This collaborative effort has sought to preserve the original “footprint” of the Upper Peninsula ecosystem in which these plants grow. Volunteers serve as the “heart” for this work.
Benchmarks marking these past years include the first Native community-based greenhouse established for Native plants in partnership with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community; ten workshops conducted for tribal members at five different Reservation sites; and negotiations started for a special internship program between Bay Mills Indian Community College and the Chicago Botanic Garden. It looks like we will be moving forward with Zaagkii II, depending on gifts, donations, and grants. We’ll know in early 2015. This is a “boots on the ground” project that is making things happen. Please lift up your prayers for this work.
Thanks to Rick Pietila (technician), Scott Herron (ethnobotanist), Tom Biron (Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), Diana Magnuson for the Marquette Monthly “Native Plants and Pollinators” series, and NMU’s Center for American Studies who have helped guide this unfolding vision.
JR’s Reflections from the Pacific NW
“Solvitur ambulando,” said Diogenes the Cynic. “It is solved by walking.” This is the same Diogenes who went about ancient Athens at mid-day, carrying a lighted lamp, “looking for an honest man”—apparently as rare a specimen 2500 years ago as it is today.
I adopted it as a personal mantra a number of years ago when I was going through a rough patch personally and professionally. Unable to sleep at night I was in a bad way when a friend suggested walking. I took it up as a substitute for anti-depressants and the habit has stuck. I’ve discovered that for me, the best approach to a challenge is to simply walk it through. Judging by the number of people I encounter on my daily perambulations, I’m not the only one.
Scientists tell us that humans were built for walking, a trait that goes back to our beginnings on the savannahs of Africa. It shouldn’t be surprising that a pastime that’s been around since the origin of our species also carries a significant spiritual component. On my shelf is a row of books about pilgrimage that have accumulated over the years; a spiritual practice that is part of every faith tradition. Christians walk the Camino. Every Muslim is expected to make the hajj to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. Each time they gather to celebrate Passover, Jews remind each other, “Next year in Jerusalem!” Along the way, most pilgrims eventually discover the paradoxical truth that the journey itself is the real destination. Which brings me back to walking.
The challenge before me on my daily walks these days is how to make a graceful transition into the next chapter of life after 35 years as a pastor. I’d imagined that no longer having to prepare sermons, attend meetings, or tend to the needs of parishioners would bring a sense of liberation and it certainly has. But it’s also raised questions of purpose and identity. Who am I when I’m not “the pastor” any more? Simply substitute teacher, doctor, truck-driver, or any other occupation for “pastor” and you uncover a question that an entire generation is or soon will be asking.
A question that big takes a longer than normal walk to fully ferment so I’m off to Italy for a few weeks. God willing, on the day you read this, I’ll have walked through the Tuscan hills having already crossed over the border from Switzerland via the St. Bernard Pass. The first two days of my walk are uphill but after that, as they say, “it’s all downhill.”
Financial planners and investment firms tell us our chief concern should be whether or not we’ll outlive our savings. It’s an important question but I’m not convinced it’s the most important. A better place to begin might be to ask ourselves, “What am I going to do with the rest of my life to help make the world a better place for my children and grand-children, friends and neighbors?”
The poet Rilke once encouraged a young writer to be patient as she sought answers to her big questions. “Live the questions for now,” advised Rilke. “Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” As Diogenes and Johnnie Walker both advise, keep walking.
John Rosenberg is a member of Washington State’s Olympian (Newspaper) Board of Contributors. In June, 2014, he retired as pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Olympia, Washington. He arrived home safely, but a bit weary, from his walk over the hills of Northern Italy.
*John Rosenberg continues to serve as a Research Fellow with the Cedar Tree Institute. For the past 15 years he’s co-facilitated numerous workshops and trainings as part of the Institute’s diverse continuing education programs. He was cross-country skiing with the CTI Director in the winter of 1989 on the edge of Glacier National Park, when overlooking a ridge line, the idea of an institute here in Northern Michigan was born.
The Challenge
Life in the Upper Peninsula 2015
What Tourists Never See. And what the Chamber of Commerce doesn’t want you to know.
The economic profile of Michigan’s U.P. remains stark, with unemployment rates twice as high as the Lower Peninsula (which includes Detroit). We have a dwindling population and household income averaging well below the national average. Our Peninsula covers 30% of the Michigan’s land base, holds 80% of the State’s forests but serves as home for only 3% of her population.
Because this region was historically shaped by logging and mining industries, we live with collective memories of boom and bust times. Such a legacy makes long-term planning difficult. With multinational mining and logging companies now targeting what is left of the region’s natural resources, KBIC tribal member and former federal regulator Jeffery Lohman warns, “The U.P. is being targeted, like many other marginal places in North America, as another sacrifice zone.”
Health is a problem. In our primarily rural landscape, we live with higher than normal rates of alcoholism, diabetes, and substance abuse. Five American Indian reservations exist here. Those communities’ efforts to protect Treaty rights are minimized, more often than not, by many local politicians who know little of indigenous people’s history.
There is an ideal of “self-sufficiency” that dominates the Upper Peninsula’s image of itself. The truth is much of the population is dependent on tax breaks and subsidies. This fact is often ignored and unrecognized. Historically, the Peninsula has politically leaned Democratic because of strong labor union influences. But now local political orientation, outside Marquette County, leans conservative and isolationist. In one Upper Peninsula County, nearly one in 10 adults, 21 and older, have a concealed gun permit, over twice the National average.
And the weather? Beautiful, fierce, but unforgiving. Lake Superior’s “heavier” seas are able to crush a small boat in half during a November storm. And if you don’t dress right during winter? A bad fall or accident will kill or cripple you. With the exception of a few interfaith initiatives in recent years, religious communities from different traditions have little communication with one another.
This is why the Cedar Tree Institute is here.
These are challenges we seek to address.
Financial Notes
An Overview
CTI is moving into its 20th year of work here in the Upper Peninsula. As a non-profit, one-third of our services are offered pro bono (at no cost) to the wider community. Ours is a slow kind of work, but remarkably rewarding. Our projects in mental health with at-risk youth, ongoing support for hospice workers, and leadership for interfaith programs remain at the heart of our vision. We have no full-time employees. We own no property. We don’t compete for United Way funds. We are here because people believe in the mission of the institute.
A hard truth: With non -profit organizations like ours, for every successful step we take forward, behind it are file cabinets full of broken dreams and failed grant proposals. We express our thanks and gratitude to all of you who continue to support us with donations. Hurrah to the many volunteers and supporters who quietly help us, in their own ways, make things happen for communities in the U.P. -Ray, Barb, John, Bonnie, Kerry, Mike, Steve, Larry, Jim, Steve, Debbie, Peter, and another 113 of you!
CTI Services
Consultation, Training, and Education
The Cedar Tree offers site-specific training for human service agencies, government organizations, churches, and businesses in the areas of – Leadership Development – Environmental Projects – Mind/body Medicine – Projects with Native American Communities
Counseling and Psychotherapy
The Institute works in collaboration with area mental health facilities, hospitals and churches. Our emphasis is on the uniqueness of each situation and the spirituality inherent in each individual. CTI offers assistance with – Relationship issues – Depression – Anxiety and Stress Management – Addictions – Vocational and Identity Transitions
Mediation and Dispute Resolution
Mediation sessions follow a specific process. Settlements that result from such sessions have proven to be more enduring and less expensive than Court-ordered decisions. CTI offers this service for – Conflicts within Churches – Landlord-Tenant Disputes – Small Claims Conflicts – Employer/Employee Conflict
On the Horizon
Spring Janus Project
Heart and Health
A Training for Health Workers and Physicians
Big Bay, Michigan March–April 2015
The Watercourse Way
A Retreat on Mindfulness & the Writings of Thomas Merton
St. Norbert’s Abbey
Appleton, Wisconsin, May 2015
The Iron Butterfly
Mind/Body Practices for Health and Stress Reduction
June 2015
Spirit of Place / Lake Superior
A 5-day Kayak Retreat on Spirituality and Ecology
Marquette, Michigan August 2015
Language of the Heart
A Workshop on Empathy for Clergy and Medical Students
Marquette, Michigan (TBS) 2015
Watershed Discipleship
A workshop for faith-based communities and leaders on strategies for addressing environmental issues
Skomakawa, Washington (TBS) 2015
Music For All Kids (MFAK)
CTI continues its partnership with a community-based program providing music lessons (from local instructors) for youth who would otherwise not be able to afford them. Ken Kelly, CTI Advisory Board Member, serves as mentor for this grass-roots outreach that has now been incorporated in afterschool programs. It’s a creative, out-of-the box project. One that needs our support.
For more information call
Shane Murray: 906-235-5163
or link up with www.music4allkids.us
CTI Board
- Jon Magnuson, CTI Executive Director
- Steve Mattson, Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo Private Client Services
- Jim Elder, Attorney, Elder Agency
Advisory Council
- Larry Skendzel, Physician
- Gareth Zellmer, Consultant, Trainer
- Ken Kelley, Professor Emeritus, NMU
- Rick Pietila, Project Technician, Beijing
- Jan Schultz, Botanist, USAFS, Eastern Region
- Ken Kelley (Retired Social Worker)
- Michael Grossman, Family Physician
Research Fellows
- John Rosenberg, Olympia, Washington
Thank you for reading the Winter 2015 Ecotone Newsletter, the official Newsletter of the Cedar Tree Institute.
